Low Impact My...

As I mentioned yesterday, I am doing this 31 day fitness challenge. It is from "Thrillist" which sends out daily emails about restaurants and things to do in your city, etc. I'm probably a few years older than their major demographic, but I saw this fitness challenge and it said I didn't need to join a gym or buy any special equipment so I thought I'd give it a try.

Yesterday went well. Today, which is only day 2, was a bit more of a challenge. They called it "low impact lower body work." Well, maybe it's low impact if you are a 20 or 30-something who just happened to drink too much during the holidays and have worked out more recently than in the past 6 months. It was a circuit of 6 exercises that you were supposed to do for 45 seconds each, resting 15 seconds between the exercises and then a full minute after you completed the 6. You did this 4 times and the workout would take about a half an hour. The first exercise was "prisoner squats" where you put your hands behind your head while you squat. While I could do these with relative ease, it certainly got my heart rate going. Next was alternate lunges, which I could also do. Then I was supposed to plank for 45 seconds. Considering I only did it for 20 seconds yesterday, I figured I may skip this one and just double up on one of the other ones. Next one was standing on one leg for 45 seconds with your leg out behind you and your opposite arm stuck out straight. I used to have EXCELLENT balance. This one hurt. Luckily I stood closer to a wall so when I started to teeter, I could hold on and push myself back up. I was embarrassed, but since no one saw me but the cats, I guess it's ok. Next was something called "bird dog" where I was on my hands and knees and lifted opposite arm/leg outstretched ahead or behind me. I don't have carpets in my apartment, or a yoga mat so this one was incredibly painful and hard on my knees. I did it for about 20 seconds and gave up in favor of a stretch until I do it next time with a towel (or three) beneath me. Then was the oblique work. From the picture, I was supposed to sit down with my knees raised, feet on the floor and move back and forth with my elbows bent. Again, this was difficult because apparently I can't sit on the floor with my knees bent slightly and feet on the floor. But I pushed through.  

I made it through the workout. The planking was replaced with a stretch where I am trying to reach my toes (I figure by the end of the 31 days I can do it), and the bird dog was replaced with another stretch, but the other ones I did and completed the circuit 4 times. I was out of breath and a bit discouraged. I glanced at what they have planned for tomorrow and I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. 

I'm not a quitter however, and I will attempt to do my best each day with this challenge. I may have to improvise from time to time or replace ones I can't do with ones I can, but I will do my best. That's all I can ask of myself, especially since I've really not done any exercise for a long time. 

Time To Get Serious

They say bad things always happen in 3's. Three things happened this week to make me realize that I really, really, REALLY need to get back to the gym and back on track with Project Dean.

The first thing that happened was that my gym kept charging my new credit card number a membership fee every 2 days. I had lost my card about a month ago and when I received the new card I entered the new number into my online account for Planet Fitness. Well, ever since then, they kept charging me. Monday of this week I was finally able to talk to the manager and he apologized profusely, gave me a refund, and then the very next day another membership fee was taken out. I called him back and he said that this time it was his fault, he refunded my money once again, and gave me a free month at the gym. When I went in to see him in person on Monday I said, this is obviously a sign that I need to get to the gym more often.

Second thing that happened was Wednesday. On Wednesday mornings I usually take the 5:50am train into the city so I can get to work early and get some things done before my boss comes downtown for the day, we end up in meetings and our brains hurt by the end of the day. This Wednesday morning I walked up the stairs to the platform and some of the other early morning regulars asked me which platform was #1. I didn't know. They said they were making announcements that our train was coming in on platform #1. There are only 2 platforms at our station, one heading downtown and one heading out towards Elgin, so I didn't know what the announcement was talking about. A couple more people arrived and then the announcement came that the train would be stopping on the NORTH platform. Well, I may not be that great at direction, but we were standing on the SOUTH platform. So as we saw the train headlights in the distance, we tried to gauge where it was coming from. Well, some of us decided it was coming in on the other side, so back down the stairs, and up the stairs on the other side we went. The train was now getting much closer and we noticed, it was back on the NORMAL side, where it always comes. So we ran back down the stairs and back up the stairs again. I was seriously out of breath by the time I sat on the train. The ride in is about 20 minutes and I really didn't recover my breath until I sat down at my desk some 25 minutes after only doing 4 flights of stairs. Ok, sign number 2 that I need to get to the gym.

Third thing that happened was that I looked at the calendar. Phantom Regiment starts their spring training in 9 weeks. Now, that may seem like a long time, but considering we're already halfway through March and I could have sworn that February was last week...9 weeks is closer than it may appear. I figure I actually have 11 weeks until Phantom does their "dress rehearsal" where I'm planning my first picture with Dean. So there we have it. 11 weeks. It's not the 21 weeks I had at the beginning of the year, but it's 11 weeks.

I'm setting smaller, realistic goals for myself. Work out 3 to 4 days a week and on the days I don't work out, take the dog for a walk after dinner (should be good for all of us).  I've also given up (mostly) on soda and am drinking more water. I'm also hoping that Winter finally leaves Chicago and the weather will be warmer so I'll feel like going for smaller walks at lunchtime, rather than sitting at my desk all day.

So...here we go again. I'm waiting...Dean's waiting...and I REFUSE to look like Jabba The Hut when I stand next to him in early June.

Project Dean--Days 4 & 5

So this weekend I went to the gym both days and it felt good. Well, Sunday it didn't feel as good, but I did what Planet Fitness calls their 30 minute Express Workout--which is a minute of steps, followed by 12 reps on a machine, then back to the steps. 20 stations in all. One of the leg machines wasn't working, so I did one of them twice. The steps always are a struggle for me after I haven't been working out for awhile. The very first time I tried the express workout I think I only got through 4 of the steps, this time I did all 10. Since Planet Fitness is partnered with The Biggest Loser they had some new workouts to do with the steps so I tried a few of those. My thighs were definitely talking to me about it when I got home, but I'm glad I did it. Saturday I did the treadmill for a mile and then did 5 miles on the bike. That felt good too. I had to push a bit on the bike to get through that last mile but I kept picturing me standing next to Dean and that helped push me. This week should be more normal at work and I'm going to try to get to the gym a couple of days after work. I took the steps today at Union Station and can almost get my breath back by the time I'm ready to cross the street now, rather than huffing and puffing all the way to my desk.

This weekend was also very good for my new recipe a week plan. I actually cooked 3 new recipes and tried a couple new things to old favorites! Friday I was off of work because it was Eric's birthday, and I wanted to spend it with him. I also had time to watch The Chew on ABC. I really like that show. Fabio Viviani, one of my favorite chef's from "Top Chef" was on and he made a recipe called "Lazy Meatballs." I thought that it looked good and easy so we picked up the ingredients for that from the store. Also on Friday, we saw an ad for a grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwich which was right up Eric's alley. Originally, we were going to go out to dinner for Eric's birthday, but he woke up on Friday morning and asked if I would cook him a steak instead. He said that would be better than any meal he could get at a restaurant. I thought that was very sweet of him to say. So I went to the grocery store and got the ingredients for the grilled cheese and jalapeno sandwiches, ingredients for the Pillsbury "Unsloppy Joe's" that we also saw a commercial for, and the ingredients for the Lazy Meatballs.

I decided to make the grilled cheese with cheddar and put it on sourdough bread. I made Eric's with thick slices of bread and had sliced the jalapeno so that each bite he took had a bite of pepper in it. He LOVED it.  I know that grilled cheese really isn't a new recipe, but it was a new way to do it for me, so I'm thinking that counts.

Friday night, I made Eric his steak, and I sauteed some shallots and mushrooms in worcestershire sauce to put on top of the steak. We also had baked potatoes with sour cream and cheese. It was quite tasty.

Then Saturday morning, after my workout, I came home and made scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries. I cut up some red pepper and some onions and diced the potatoes for the home fries and seasoned it all with Lawry's seasoned salt. It was the first time I had made my own home fries and Eric said it may have been the best breakfast I had ever served him. I loved how easy it was and will definitely do it again.

Saturday night we made the Unsloppy Joe's. Now, you're supposed to brown some ground beef, add some sloppy joe sauce to it and then put that mixture, along with some shredded cheese onto biscuits that you've stretched out a bit. They were messy, but not too bad. I never really liked sloppy joes when I was younger, and still don't really care for them (I think the meat tastes too sweet in the sauce), but it was an acceptable, easy dinner, and yet another new recipe.

Finally, on Sunday night I made the Lazy Meatballs.  Here's a picture of them. The base of sauce is really easy, just onions, garlic and fennel seed, then you add some chicken stock, some pureed tomatoes and some Italian sausage that has been cut into meatball size pieces. You let that all cook together until the sauce thickens, then you add some fresh basil and some parmesan cheese and serve it with some warm crusty bread and you're good to go. I thought that the sauce would develop more flavors overnight and I was right. I took some to work today for lunch and the sauce was flavorful, but also way too salty. I think the salt from the sausages and the salt I added just sat there too long. I don't know, but next time I think I'll add just a little less salt.  The sauce is a good basic sauce that I think I could use on pasta, or even chicken. I'll experiment some more with it.

I considered it a very good weekend.

Project Dean--Day 2 (and a half)

The workout on Saturday went well. It had been about 3 months since I had been to the gym, so I was proud of myself for being able to do a mile and a half on the treadmill in about 40 minutes. My ankle started to twinge just a little bit (not an excuse, just the truth) so I didn't want to push it and stopped at that point. I wasn't too sore afterwords, except walking back up the stairs to our apartment when my knee protested that it hadn't moved that much in awhile.

Then came Sunday. I was planning on going grocery shopping and then hitting the gym, but ended up only going grocery shopping. But, in my defense, I did walk around the grocery store, then loaded all the groceries in the car (lifting), and also helped Eric carry the groceries upstairs so that was a mini-workout. Then, I made beef stew so I was lifting my rather heavy cast iron skillet a couple of times to clean it, brown the meat and then clean it again. I also stood to peel potatoes and carrots (arm exercise) and to chop the vegetables.  So I'm going to give myself half a workout for that. I figure that ANYTHING that gets me off the couch is something that's worth doing.

Yesterday I went back to work, where, as promised, I took the stairs at the train station. I was surprised at how out of breath I was when I walked out of the station, but figure that by the end of the week I'll be better at it, and by the end of the month, the stairs will be an afterthought and I'll be able to breathe normally.  I also ate better at work yesterday. I had a yogurt for breakfast, a granola bar for a snack and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread for lunch. I also danced do the beginning of the BCS Championship Game, so that was a little workout at well.

I'm getting there. Slowly, but again, movement is better than no movement.

Project Dean--Day 1

Okay, as I mentioned in my first post of the year, I'm ready to lose weight in order to take a picture with Dean Patterson, Phantom Regiment Drum Major, at dress rehearsal and at the end of the summer. Here are pictures of me as I look today. I'll probably only post these pictures once a month so that I can truly see progress in my goals.

I'm a little embarrassed by this pictures...I mean, I've always been a big girl, and don't think I'll ever get down to a size that would make me "thin" but I'm going to get down to a weight that makes me feel good about myself and makes me more healthy.

My goals are to get rid of the belly fat as much as I can, and to tone my arms and my thighs so they don't flap around. I'm also going to make it a goal to run in the Race To Wrigley 5K in May. A couple of years ago, Eric and I were heading out to breakfast and we ran into the throngs of people involved in the race, streets blocked everywhere so it took us about 45 minutes to get through it all. But it looks like fun and I'm a diehard Cubs fan, so figured that would be my first 5K.  I originally was going to run a couple of 5K's last November and December, but I trained stupidly and managed to mess up my ankle the first weekend of training and never really went back. I also gave myself too short a time to train. I figure with the Race To Wrigley being 5 months away, that's plenty of time to train properly and be able to handle a 3 mile run.

I have a membership at Planet Fitness and the gym is only a mile from my house and is open 24 hours a day. This past October, when the dog would get me up at 4:30am or so to go outside, I would do that, put on my workout clothes and head to the gym. It was quiet and I could catch up on the sports games of the night.

Now the goal is to be consistent in actually going to the gym. My work schedule has been off since the holidays (I'm a contractor, don't get paid holidays or vacation time) so I've been working long hours and after 10 hours of looking at spreadsheets, I really didn't feel like working out. So, I'm starting on January 5th, will work out both weekend days and will try to get to the gym at least 2 other days during the week. I figure 4 days a week is a good way to start. I'm also going to take the stairs at Union Station instead of the escalators which will help a little as well. I might go to the gym on the nights the Biggest Loser is on so I can be inspired by others.

I named this "Project Dean" so I could have motivation. I have a little iPod Nano that Eric gave me for my birthday and I have pictures of Dean on there so I can look at his face while I'm struggling to make it that extra 5 minutes on the treadmill. I'm also wearing a Phantom Regiment t-shirt while I work out for more inspiration. I'm hoping that by August, the 3X Turandot tour shirt I bought last year, can be replaced by an XL or even L tour shirt.

So here we go. I'll let you know tomorrow how the first workout went. I figure my fingers won't be sore, but the rest of me might be.

P.S. I know I didn't post anything for the past 2 days, which breaks my rule of writing or posting something every day, but I've been READING...a lot...with the gift of my Kindle, I'm reading all the time, which I consider a good thing.